Thoughts on the 2009 Bigeq.com Equitation Index

It's hard to believe that it's been nine years of Indexes for us! Pretty amazing, and the Index continues to reveal who the hot junior eq riders are, and who's hot on their heels to become the next big star.

THE TOP TEN

It is no surprise that reigning Maclay champion Jessica Springsteen snagged the #1 spot. She won three classes, and placed consistently at WEF. Part of our calculation includes bonus points to any rider having won a medal final, so both Springsteen and #24 Hannah Selleck were the beneficiaries in 2009, having proven themselves to be top flight competitors. Selleck won the 2008 USET West Final.

As we were tallying all the riders and points, it quickly became apparent that the Ocala circuit really gained some strength in 2009. This year it was the second toughest circuit behind Wellington. There is an extremely talented group of riders who really put themselves on the equitation map, including two of the top three and three of the top six.

Foremost is #2 Chase Boggio. He had a dominating circuit in Ocala. He won seven classes and placed in 17 over the course of the circuit. He had the highest 'raw' score of any rider, on any circuit this winter. Last year he debuted on the list at #46, and like many eq stars before him, he made a huge leap in his second year on the list. This bodes to be a great year.

Right on his heels is #3 Samantha Smith, another up and coming equitation star. 2009 is her debut on the Index, but she was 5th in the 2008 ASPCA Maclay Final. Like Boggio, she ribboned in 17 classes during the circuit, and won five of them.

#6 Laura Pfeiffer and #8 Sara Green round out the group of elite riders from Ocala who made the top ten. Both riders were ribbon winners at finals in 2008 (Green 8th USEF Medal, Pfeiffer 6th in both WIHS and Maclay Finals), and are poised for excellent results in coming Finals.

Pfeiffer won six classes en route to her ranking. She narrowly missed making the Index in 2007, when she was ranked #18 for Ocala, but she earned a spot in 2008 at #36. Meanwhile, Green is no stranger to the Index. It is her fourth year on the list, and she's steadily climbed upward, debuting at #47 in 2006, appearing #17 in 2007, and #14 in 2008. In 2009, she won four classes and placed in twelve.

WEF had its usual share of equitation stars in the top ten. Last year's #1, Victoria Birdsall, remains a strong competitor at #4. She won five classes in Wellington this year, starting off as hot as she ended 2008, when she placed in the 'big 3' finals: 4th USET East, 9th USEF Medal, and reserve champion in the ASPCA Maclay. It's also her 4th year receiving recognition on the Index, she was an honorable mention in 2006, #18 in 2007, and #1 in 2008.

#5 Reed Kessler was one of the most consistent riders in Wellington. She pinned in fifteen classes and won four. She had a high debut at #13 in 2008 and remains a talented young eq rider to watch.

Jacqueline Lubrano landed at lucky #7 on the Index this year. She has been one of the most consistent eq riders in the last few years, and 2009 is no exception. She was the most consistent rider on the WEF circuit, placing in sixteen classes and winning three. It's her third year on the Index (#11 in 2008, #21 in 2007). She's also ribboned at the USEF Medal and USET East Finals in years past. So keep an eye on her!

Rounding out the WEF group of top ten riders is #9 Kelsey Hart. She won three classes and placed in ten during the six weeks we evaluated. It should be an excellent indication of her progress that she made a huge leap from #45 in 2008 to the top ten of our Index. This generally signifies of good things to come in her eq career, and she's got a few more years left. She's another one to watch.

The top rider on the Thermal circuit rounds out our top ten. #10 Cayla Richards bested her peers on the strength of three straight wins at the end of the circuit. She had another win, and a few more top three placings to separate herself at the top. She is another young rider who has several more years to compete. She came east in 2008 and placed second in the North American class at the Capital Challenge. The future definitely looks bright for her!

ELEVEN AND ON

#11 Zazou Hoffman still has the best name on the eq circuit, five finals ribbons to her name, and three years of Index recognition (#20 in 2007, HM in 2008). She's won an ASPCA regional, and is always in the hunt for a big win.

#12 Katie Dinan placed in eight classes, of which six were in the top three. When she's on her game, she's a top contender!

#13 Christy DiStefano has been hovering around the Index for quite a few years now. She was an honorable mention in 2008, and #27 in 2006, and #35 in 2005. She is the only rider to have appeared as far back as 2005. Now that's some good experience! She seems to be on top of her game in 2009, and ribboned in three finals in 2008 (NAEC, USET East, ASPCA Maclay).

#14 Paulena Johnson won three classes in WEF and is an experienced eq rider. She earned an Honorable Mention on the Index last year and #38 in 2007.

Equitation runs in the genes for #16 Saer Coulter and #26 Audrey Coulter. The sibling duo were strong competitors at Thermal. Saer won two classes and pinned in 12. Meanwhile, Audrey was the most consistent rider on the circuit, pinning in 14 classes, but ultimately her highest placings were four seconds which kept her from jumping to the top.

Several riders did double duty, hitting both Ocala and WEF. As another proof of high quality competition in both places, these riders had success on each circuit. Their combined scores earned them excellent rankings on the Index: #15 Michael Hughes, #17 Molly Braswell, #23 Amber Henter, #33 Samantha Schaefer, #47 Jaime Steinhaus, and HM Caitie Hope.

#18 Alexandra Arute and #19 Taylor Ann Adams are both enjoying their second ranking on the Index. Arute finished at an impressive #3 in 2008, and Adams debuted at #26 last year.

#20 Karen Polle was just about this close ---> <--- to being top ten. She set a world record for the Index with six, yes SIX, second place ribbons without winning a class. Here's how winning those classes would have helped her: If one of those seconds had been a first, her total would have been 5610, good for #18. Two firsts? 6750 and #11. Three firsts? 7890 and #9. Four firsts? 9030 and #8. Five firsts? 10170 and #7. Six firsts? 11310 and #3. So close, yet so far away!

Incidentally, the fact that six first place finishes on this Index still only gets you #3 shows how tough and good these top riders are, not only did they win between 4-7 classes, but they ribboned in many others, which is how they differentiate themselves from the competition.

#21 Lucy Davis is a three-time medal finals ribbon winner. She was reserve champion in the USET West last fall, and has twice placed in the ASPCA Maclay. She's among the elite group of riders with recognition on the Index over the last four years: HM in 2006, #18 in 2007, and HM in 2008. In 2009, she won three of the seven classes she placed in.

#22 Danielle Cooper was among the most consistent riders in Wellington, placing in 13 classes. She wasn't able to pull out a win, but placed second three times, and third four times. Like Polle, she's knockin' on the door of some great wins!

#25 Schaefer Raposa won two classes and pinned in seven. This is her second appearance on the Index. Last year she came it at #19. Both are solid rankings for a young rider. Watch out veteran eq riders!

Thermal rider Navona Gallegos debuted on the Index in 2007 at #39. She finished at #38 in 2008, and #37 this year. Talk about consistency! Another Californian Nicoletta Von Heidegger is making her fourth appearance on the Index at #38. Her previous rankings were: #35 in 2008, #27 in 2007, #39 in 2006.

Congratulations to everyone!

CIRCUIT EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSES:

GEORGE MORRIS EXCELLENCE IN EQ - WEF
(WITH BIGEQ.COM EQ INDEX RANKING)
1/1 JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN
2/4 VICTORIA BIRDSALL
3/35 TAYLOR MARIE HARRIS
4/25 SCHAEFER RAPOSA
5/34 CATHERINE PASMORE
6/45 SAMANTHA RAMSAY
7/30 LAURA KING
8/5 REED KESSLER
9/11 ZAZOU HOFFMAN
10/12 KATIE DINAN
RES/9 KELSEY HART

RONNIE MUTCH EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIP - OCALA
1/23 AMBER HENTER
2/15 MICHAEL HUGHES
3/8 SARA GREEN
4/6 LAURA PFEIFFER
5/27 HASBROUCK DONOVAN
6/2 CHASE BOGGIO
7/19 TAYLOR ANN ADAMS
8/33 SAMANTHA SCHAEFER
9/HM CHELSEY ZULIA
10/17 MOLLY BRASWELL

RONNIE MUTCH EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIP - THERMAL
TO BE DETERMINED!

*Please note that we used the results from all of Thermal and Ocala, and used results from weeks 1-6 of WEF, so while we may mention a rider who never won a class, or won 'x' number of classes, this only includes weeks 1-6. We also only use WIHS overall results, so we do not consider individual phase results as a 'win.'